Aug 13, 2026 · 9 min · 9 segments
Bonus episode from the newsletter On This Day in Women's History! On August 12-13, 1967, Glacier National Park had a double tragedy: two 19-year-old girls were hiking in separate groups in separate…
One of the great moments in United States history was in 1916, when Congress created the National Park Service to manage some of our most beautiful wild spaces.
In the early history of the parks, the idea was that large predators should be hunted down and driven out.
Who wanted a bear or a wolf? At best, such animals stole your livestock and therefore your chance of eating through the winter.
At worst, they stole your life.
Or that of your children.
Humanity had spent millennia eyeing these animals with the proper respect.
It was only later, when most of us lived in places where we never worried about things like that, that we could look at these animals with unmixed admiration.
With interest.
but perhaps without the traditional respect.
The staff at the Granite Park Chalet had a regular habit of throwing food out in a certain place so the tourists could experience the thrill of seeing the grizzly bears come out each evening to eat it.
Some rangers had expressed concern that this was maybe not a good idea, but there was no policy against it, and the visitors never failed to be thrilled.
In 1967, forest fires drove more and more hungry bears into the people-infested areas of the park.
There were several incidents throughout the summer, but nothing so severe that anyone suggested major policy changes.
Campers and hikers regularly left food out, either on purpose or on accident, and when they had trash, they just tossed that trash wherever it was convenient.
One of the great moments in United States history was in 1916, when Congress created the National Park Service to manage some of our most beautiful wild spaces.
In the early history of the parks, the idea was that large predators should be hunted down and driven out.
Who wanted a bear or a wolf? At best, such animals stole your livestock and therefore your chance of eating through the winter.
At worst, they stole your life.
Or that of your children.
Humanity had spent millennia eyeing these animals with the proper respect.
It was only later, when most of us lived in places where we never worried about things like that, that we could look at these animals with unmixed admiration.
With interest.
but perhaps without the traditional respect.
The staff at the Granite Park Chalet had a regular habit of throwing food out in a certain place so the tourists could experience the thrill of seeing the grizzly bears come out each evening to eat it.
Some rangers had expressed concern that this was maybe not a good idea, but there was no policy against it, and the visitors never failed to be thrilled.
In 1967, forest fires drove more and more hungry bears into the people-infested areas of the park.
There were several incidents throughout the summer, but nothing so severe that anyone suggested major policy changes.
Campers and hikers regularly left food out, either on purpose or on accident, and when they had trash, they just tossed that trash wherever it was convenient.
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